Weather protection device for the protection of special plant cultures sensitive to moisture

ABSTRACT

A weather protection device for the protection of moisture or sunlight sensitive specialized cultures of plant cultivation is proposed, with at least a largely watertight protective skin that is attached to a carrier unit, which safely ensures an effective protection, especially of plants from weather influences, even over longer periods of time at comparably low effort, and which is economically inexpensive to produce, especially for very large-scale applications, such as for areas of several acres of size: This is achieved according to the invention in that the protective skin is attached at least partially pivoting on the carrier unit for swiveling out by means of wind force from an idle position, and that at least one of a net, meshwork, and screen is provided, on which the protective skin rests.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This application claims the benefit of International Patent ApplicationNo. PCT/DE02/04043, filed on Oct. 31, 2002, which claims benefit ofGerman Patent Application No. 101 53 703.4, filed on Oct. 31, 2001,which are hereby incorporated by reference for all purposes as if fullyset forth herein.

The invention relates to a weather protection device for the protectionof moisture or sunlight-sensitive specialized cultures of plantcultivation according to the generic term of claim 1.

DISCUSSION OF THE RELATED ART

Moisture-sensitive specialized cultures, such as cherries, apricots,raspberries, strawberries, grapes, etc., for instance, may besubstantially damaged by rainfall, especially during the last daysbefore the harvest. Cherries, for example, absorb so much water during arainfall that they may burst, and can therefore no longer be sold asdessert fruit. Correspondingly, these cases result in substantialeconomic losses for agriculturists.

To avoid the economic losses corresponding to destruction of harvestsfrom rain, various weather protection devices are already in use. Forexample, conventional weather protection devices contain posts on whichtension wires are stretched in such a way that, for instance, so-calledhail protection nets and/or foils, tarps, and such can be attached tothis type of carrying unit. Especially for the protection of rows ofcherry trees, the hail nets, or foils are arranged in the form of rowsof span roof constructions over the plant rows. The hail net is usuallyattached over the plant during comparably long periods of time for theprotection of the plants from hail. In contrast, the slack foil, ortarp, is stretched over the plants merely a few days before the harvestof the fruit, or such. During the time where plants do not need to beprotected from rain, the foils, or tarps, can possibly be folded, orrolled up, and stored in the ridge area of the protection device. Forexample, a plant protection device comparable to, and constituting aspecial category with the respective rain protection system, is knownfrom the European Patent Specification EP 07 71 140 B1.

However, a disadvantage of the currently known weather protectiondevices is that comparably strong winds, or gusts of wind, may lead todamage, or even the destruction of the wind and water-tight protectiveskin that has a relatively large surface in its stretched out state, orof the entire weather protection device. This results in substantialfinancial damages for agriculturists. Furthermore, protection of theplants from weather exposure is no longer ensured after the weatherprotection device has been damaged or destroyed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The task of the invention is to recommend a weather protection devicefor the protection of moisture or sunlight-sensitive specializedcultures of plant cultivation with at least one essentially water-tightprotective skin that is attached to a carrier unit, which ensureseffective protection, particularly for plants, from weather exposure,even over longer periods of time at a comparably low effort.

This task, based on a weather protection device of the type previouslymentioned in the introduction, is solved by the characteristics of claim1.

Advantageous embodiments and further embodiments of the invention arepossible by means of the measures stated in the sub-claims.

Accordingly, a weather protection device according to the invention ischaracterized in that the normally slack flexible protective skin isattached on the carrier unit in at least a partially pivoting positionfor the swiveling out by means of wind force from an idle position, andthat at least a net, meshwork, and/or screen is provided, on which theprotective skin lies. Preferably, at least part of the carrier unit iscomprised of at least a net, meshwork, and/or screen that is embodied asan overlay for the protective skin, on which the protective skin coversessentially the complete surface. This is of particular advantage withslack foils, tarps, etc., as these are commercially available in manyvariations, and are especially inexpensive. Additionally, they arealready in broad use in plant cultivation, especially in agriculture.

In large-scale weather protection devices in plant cultivation accordingto prior art, an attempt is made by means of extensive, constructivemeasures, to embody the protective skin or slack foil in such a way thatit resists the forces of wind. This results in substantial constructiveand financial efforts on one hand, but a safe protection from extremewinds or gusts of wind can still not be ensured, on the other hand.Contrary to prior art, the protective skin according to the invention isembodied in such a way that it yields to the wind forces acrossessentially its entire surface in an advantageous manner, in that atleast one area of the protective skin swivels out when exposed to acertain surface pressure, and as such positions itself into the wind.This means that the protective skin yields to wind pressure in aspecific manner through the working surface of the protective skin thatis decisive for the wind is critically reduced. This results in theprotective skin being for the largest part protected from negativeinfluences, or destruction, even in the case of relatively largesurfaces.

Due to the comparatively small working surface of the protective skin,the protective skin, or the weather protection device respectively,absorbs comparatively low wind forces. Accordingly, relatively complexconstructive measures for the absorption of extreme wind forces can beomitted with regard to the protective skin, as well as with regard tothe carrier unit, which also substantially reduces the constructive andfinancial burden in weather protection devices according to theinvention, especially in relatively large-scale applications.

A respective negative influence or destruction is basically safelyavoided through the swiveling out of the protective skin by means ofwind force, but at the same time rain falling on the specializedcultures is avoided as much as possible with the aid of the protectiveskin in the idle position. When it rains, slight winds also generallyoccur, at least in mild climate zones.

Advantageously, the net, meshwork, and/or screen embodied as the overlayof the protective skin in particular makes it possible for theprotective skin to lie nearly on the complete surface of the net,meshwork, and/or screen in its idle position, i.e., during a calm. Onone hand, this aids in the particularly simple creation of thesurface-wide support of the protective skin, so that an extraordinarilyeconomically favorable weather protection device especially forrelatively large-scale applications, such as in plant cultivation, canbe realized. On the other hand, a particularly thin-walled, slack,pliable, flexible, elastic, or formable protective skin can be used,such as a plastic foil or tarp, without it requiring any extensivesupport or such.

Furthermore, extreme overheating of the area of the weather protectiondevice to be protected is effectively avoided in an advantageous mannerby means of a protective skin according to the invention. A relativelystrong heating of the area to be protected leads to convection flows,i.e., to thermal winds that may also result in a swiveling out of theprotective skin according to the invention, and can therefore result inthe realization of an advantageous ventilation. Any negative influenceson the plants, or objects to be protected, from relatively hightemperatures can therefore be effectively avoided.

Furthermore, the protective skin according to the invention can forinstance be applied over a course of several months without it beingdamaged due to wind. In plant cultivation it is advantageous in aweather protection device according to the invention to provideartificial irrigation that supplies the plants to be protected withwater. For example, irrigation occurs at a height of several centimetersabove ground, for instance, at approximately 10 to 50 cm, especially 20cm.

Relatively warm water, for instance, approximately 5° to 15° C. canpreferably be introduced underneath the protective skin. This makes itpossible for the irrigation water to transfer warmth to the interiorformed by the weather protection device, and the plants or such to beprotected are protected from adversely low temperatures such as frost.This means that the weather protection device can be assembled togetherwith an irrigation system as a frost protection device, heating device,or heating and/or air conditioning of the plants to be protected.

Furthermore, protection from birds and/or insects is achieved,especially due to the nearly continuous, at least slight movement of theprotective skin, and/or of the net, meshwork, or screen, respectively.Preferably, the net essentially reaches the ground on the side. Forpurposes of an insect protection function, the net, meshwork, and/orscreen, by comparison has no clearance or holes, so that common insectsusually are not able to penetrate the net, meshwork, and/or screen. Afurther advantage, in the case of fruit trees, berry hedges, grapes,strawberries, etc. to be protected, is that birds and/or insectsdamaging the plants, such as cherry fruit flies, or such, areeffectively deterred from influencing the harvest. A weather protectiondevice according to the invention embodied as bird and/or insectprotection ensures an especially high harvest rate of the plants to beprotected. Additionally, this may be considered or used as a biologicalplant protection measure, which can largely replace the use of chemicalplant protective agents or their equivalents.

Generally, for the pollination of the plants to be protected, bees orbeehives, for instance, can be attached in an advantageous mannerbetween them, or underneath the protective skin and/or inside of theinventive weather protection device.

A further advantage is that due to the weather protection deviceaccording to the invention, the leaves of the plants to be protectedalmost never get moist or wet, so that an adverse infestation of theplants with fungus, or such can be effectively avoided. Accordingly, theuse of fungicides, in particular, becomes largely obsolete. In this way,biological plant protection can be realized in an advantageous manner,thus making respective chemical means dispensable.

Advantageously, the protective skin is embodied in such a way that aminimum wind force that can be predetermined is required for theswiveling out of the protective skin from the idle position. This can berealized, for instance, with attenuation means for attenuating theswiveling out, and/or by means of an advantageous dimensioning,particularly of the weight, of the protective skin to be swiveled out.

In a favorable manner, the protective skin can generally be attached,i.e., sewn, or glued onto the net, meshwork, and/or screen. Respectiveattachments can be realized for large-scale use in a particularly simpleway, such as for protective skin that is several square yards or acresin size, which is common in agriculture or forestry.

In construction, weather coverings for scaffolding erected for claddingwork are known that have a carrier frame attached to a rain gutter of abuilding, whereby surface-rigid flaps are attached on the narrow ends oftheir frame spars (compare DE 199 50 978 A1, DE 100 13 545 A1). Due tothe requirements and conditions in construction, both the carrier framesand the flaps of this type of weather coverings must be embodied in anespecially robust or rigid manner so that the flaps according to thementioned specifications are generally realized in multi-layers, and areadditionally equipped with stiffening members.

These devices, however, have the disadvantage that the carrier frame andthe stiffened, especially multi-layered flaps are very complex and costintensive, or time consuming in their production, as well as in theirassembly and disassembly. Therefore, these types of weather coveringsare merely suitable in scaffolding for smaller areas, such as forcovering scaffolding toward the top. Due to the current economicconditions, if for no other reason, weather coverings in plantcultivation having complex and numerous spars, or such, cannot beutilized because of their high costs.

In a preferred variation of the invention, the protective skin is atleast partially embodied in a manner of a vane. This results in aparticularly simple and inexpensive embodiment of the invention.

Advantageously, the protective skin is comprised of several, at leastpartially pivoting protective elements. For example, at least oneprotective element can be provided per roof surface, and/or lateral areaof the weather protection device so that the weather protection devicecan be embodied in any shape, such as an umbrella, pyramid, cone,hemisphere shape, or such, and can possibly be adjusted to the objectsto be protected, or their shape, respectively.

Furthermore, each roof, or side surface, or such, can be comprised in afavorable manner of several pivoting protective elements according tothe invention. This makes it possible that any relatively large surfacescan be created, or protected with comparably easy to handle,small-surface protective elements. Possibly, surfaces or areas to beprotected of several acre size can be realized by means of utilizationof several pivoting protective elements according to the invention, forinstance, for protecting complete plantations, or such.

Preferably, several protective elements each are embodied at leastpartially as vanes. With this type of help, relatively large protectionareas can be embodied according to the invention in a particularlysimple manner.

In a special embodiment of the invention, the protective elements arearranged overlapping each other, i.e., a surface-wide covering of theprotective elements is provided. In a preferred manner, the overlappingis realized in such a way that a second element that is arranged above afirst protective element in vertical direction overlaps the exterior ofthe first protective element across the entire surface. This makes itpossible that rainwater drains on the exterior of the protective skin inthe protective skin's idle position, and the objects arranged underneaththe weather protection device are effectively protected from the rain.Alternatively, this measure realizes a steadily predetermined idleposition by means of a support, or embodiment of an end stop for thesecond protective element by means of a section of the first protectiveelement in an advantageous manner.

In a special variation of the invention, the protective skin, or theprotective elements can be embodied as nearly stiff elements, which are,for example, pivot-supported around a pivot axis. For this purpose,sheet metal, plastic plates, or such are possible, for instance. Amongothers, the pivoting operation can be realized by means of hinges orsuch.

Preferably, the protective skin is embodied at least partially as athin-walled, slack, pliable, formable, elastic, or flexible protectiveskin. For example, the pivot area of the protective elements, or of theprotective skin, can be embodied by means of a flexible section in themanner of a foil hinge. Any rigid plates according to the invention canbe attached on the carrier unit in a pivoting manner by means of abendable section of the protective skin.

As an alternative, the protective skin, or the protective elements,respectively, can be embodied almost completely as a flexible foil,tarp, or such. In an advantageous manner, particularly with the use offoils, tarps, or such, the protective skin can be adjusted to variousdifferent shapes, and at the same time embodied in a pivoting manner.For instance, a flexible protective skin can be attached to the carrierunit in a pivoting manner according to the invention both in the case ofnearly plane surfaces, and in the case of cone or cylinder shapedsurfaces, or ball sections.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the length equals amultitude of the width of a protective element. For example, aprotective element and/or the net, screen, fabric, meshwork, etc. isembodied in a strip or sheet shape. Correspondingly narrow protectiveelements and/or nets, screens, fabrics, meshwork, etc. can be attachedin an advantageous manner lengthwise along the longitudinal axis, orlongitudinal edge, especially on the carrier unit. This creates acomparably large-scale attachment that is able to receive relativelylarge retaining forces. Furthermore, an advantageous adjustment torelatively large planting areas of respective plants can be achieved inthis manner.

Additionally, a nonconforming positioning of the protective skin can beeffectively avoided by means of comparably narrow protective elementsthat are correspondingly attached lengthwise, especially with the use ofa flexible protective skin.

One length of each of the protective elements and/or the nets, screens,fabrics, meshwork, etc. is possibly approximately 10 to 1000 times,preferably approximately 100 to 500 times longer than its width.

It is possible that a pivot line of the protective skin extends in anearly vertical direction. In a preferred embodiment of the invention,at least one pivot line of the protective skin extends essentiallyhorizontally. For example, merely one nearly horizontally extendingpivot line of the protective skin, or of the protective elements can beprovided, which is possibly combined with one or several, at leastpartially vertically extending pivot lines. For instance, a strip-shapedpivot element is essentially horizontally pivot-attached to the carrierunit, preferably in longitudinal direction. This can, among other uses,be attached to the carrier unit, possibly in a lateral direction, withthe use of a flexible protective skin, or flexible protective elements,respectively. In this case, the flexible protective skin enables apartial swiveling out according to the invention despite multipleattachments.

In accordance with the invention, an edge, or an edge section of theprotective skin, or of the protective elements, respectively, ispreferably loosely attached to the carrier unit, i.e., is not fastenedor attached to the carrier unit so that at least this edge, or this edgesection, respectively, can blow in the wind.

In an advantageous variation of the invention, return means are at leastprovided in order to return the swiveled out protective skin, or theprotective elements, respectively, into the idle position. Correspondingreturn means particularly enable the formation of a largely closedprotective skin during nearly calm or windless phases. This means thatthe protective skin is nearly impermeable for falling rain and/orpossibly for direct sunlight. As a result, the objects to be protected,such as cherry trees, raspberry hedges, or such, are exposed to rainand/or sunlight merely during comparably heavy winds. A relativelyshort-term, or low irrigation with rainwater is irrelevant particularlyin the case of cherries, or similar fruits.

Furthermore, the invention makes it possible that comparablysunlight-sensitive objects, or cultures of plant cultivation areeffectively protected from very strong sunlight also on a long-termbasis, and that damage of the protective skin is effectively avoided atthe same time, even during relatively heavy winds.

Generally, the pivot line of the protective skin, or of the protectiveelements, respectively, can be provided in a center section of the same.Preferably, the pivot line is arranged at an edge area of the protectiveskin and/or of the protective elements. Possibly, the protectiveelements, or the protective skin, flap or pivot back into the idleposition up to an end stop element of the carrier unit nearlyautomatically. Especially by using a pivot line that is arranged in theedge area the protective skin, or the protective elements can, due togravity, advantageously pivot back automatically, and therefore act as,or be realized as return means at the same time. This enables aparticularly simple realization, and therefore inexpensive embodiment ofthe invention.

As an alternative, or in combination herewith, the return means arecomprised of at least one attachment element for the additionalattachment of the protective skin on the carrier unit. For example, anelastic return element, such as a rubber or spring element, or such canbe used as the attachment element.

Furthermore, a nearly non-elastic attachment can be provided on thecarrier unit, especially with the use of a flexible protective skin.

In a preferred manner, the carrier unit is comprised of at least onesupport device that is arranged on the carrier element for the supportof the protective skin. For example, the carrier element can be realizedas a pole, post, or such, on which a respective support device isarranged for the support of the protective skin. The carrier element isto be embodied in such a way that the objects to be protected, such ascherry trees, can be arranged in an advantageous manner underneath theprotective skin, or within the area to be protected. The support deviceespecially, enables an advantageous support, or fixation of theprotective skin's idle position.

Preferably, the support device has at least the net, meshwork, screen,and/or clamping elements. Preferably, the support device is embodied asthe support for the protective skin. For example, the support device canbe embodied as the hail protection net that exists in many cases and isattached or tautened to poles, posts, etc. by means of tension wires,tension ropes, or such. Respective hail protection nets can be realizedat substantially lower costs as compared to current rain protectiondevices according to prior art, and are widely used for respectivespecialized cultures in plant cultivation. By using the existing hailprotection systems as the support device and carrier unit for theprotective skin according to the invention, an especially economicallyfavorable embodiment can be achieved.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the protective skin isat least partially attached to the support device by means of a thread,yarn, rope, and/or wire. Particularly the attachment by means of asewing method with the aid of a respective thread, yarn, or such,enables a particularly advantageous attachment on the carrier unit thatcan easily be realized, for instance with the use of comparably narrow,strip-shaped protective elements, especially in the longitudinaldirection of the protective skin, or the protective elements,respectively.

Furthermore, the protective skin, or the protective elements,respectively, can be attached on the carrier unit in an advantageousmanner by means of gluing, plastic welding, riveting, stapling, clampingmethods, or such.

Preferably, the protective skin consists at least partially of lightpermeable material, such as a nearly lucent plastic foil, or such. Thismeasure makes it possible that the protective skin can be attached onthe carrier unit according to the invention over comparably long periodsof time without any adverse shading of the plants, or such. This meansthat, for instance, cherries, raspberries, etc. receive sunlight evenover longer periods of time, such as several weeks or months, preferablyfor their continued ripening, without any adverse rain reducing theeffectiveness of the protection.

Preferably, a nearly lucent protective skin, or plastic foil is usedthat contains stiffening means, or an insert for stiffening. Thestiffening means, or the insert can, for instance, is embodied as afabric, or such, so that commercially available plastic foils can beused as the protective skin according to the invention.

It is additionally possible that a material with filter effect can beused as the material for the protective skin for special radiationranges of the sunlight, such as UV rays. It is possible to use amaterial that transforms adverse UV rays into favorable IR, or thermalrays. This measure advantageously influences the plant growth,particularly photosynthesis. Additionally, this method effectivelycounteracts the recent, and probably future increase of UV rays ofsunlight due to a thinning of the ozone layer, which reduces orcompletely avoids respective damages to plants.

Furthermore, UV resistant material can be provided as the protectiveskin in an advantageous manner so that particularly the life of theprotective skin possibly spans several years.

In a special embodiment of the invention, the protective skin, and/orthe net, fabric, or screen contains a blanket-stitched edge, or inseamside strip. Preferably, the blanket-stitched edge, or the inseam sidestrip is arranged at least on the side of the protective skin that isopposite of the pivot line. This achieves both a stiffening of theprotective skin, and a weight increase of the protective skin, whichfurther improves the swiveling out, or the return of the protectiveskin. The blanket-stitched edge of the net, fabric, etc. can realize thefunction of edge reinforcement, or the bordering, particularly in sewingprocesses.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the protective skin isembodied, possibly exclusively, as a roof. Especially for the use inplant cultivation, merely the arrangement of the protective skin in theroof area of the weather protection device suffices in order to ensurethe protection from rain. By omitting side areas of the weatherprotection device that are covered with protective skin, theconstruction, and therefore also the financial efforts for theembodiment of the inventive weather protection device is reduced.

In a special further development of the invention, at least one weatherprotection strip is provided that consists of a protective skin stripattached to a strip of net, fabric, or screen. Preferably, theattachment is performed by means of a sewing process, or such.Corresponding weather protection strips are attached, or sewn to eachother so that a weather protection device is comprised of severalweather protection strips.

The attachment, or seam, is advantageously performed in such a way thatthe individual weather protection strips are attached, or sewn to theattachment, or seamed with the net, fabric, or screen strip of theneighboring weather protection strip. Preferably, this is also performedin such a way that an overlapping of the individual protective skinstrips is realized. This means that the lower longitudinal edge of onestrip overlaps the upper longitudinal edge of the subsequently lowerlying protective skin strip. For example, the net, fabric, or screenstrip, for instance, in its sewn condition, has for this purpose a lowerstretch, or width than, that of the respective protective skin strip.

The net, fabric, or screen strip, however, can also have a largerstretch, or width than the respective protective skin strip in theattached condition so that a rainwater permeable area is created, inwhich generally only the net, fabric, or screen is present. A respectivearea can, among others, be provided at an edge area of the weatherprotection device, or particularly in the case of a weather protectiondevice embodied in the shape of a gable roof, or such in a center orlower lying area. Especially in the latter case, this aids in theadvantageous realization of a drainage area for the rainwater so that itcan drain particularly easily and without any obstacles, and thereforethe retention of water does not occur on the protective skin.

Preferably, the drainage area is arranged between the plants, plantrows, or objects to be protected. This prevents the leaves or fruitgenerally from getting wet, and ensures that rainwater is fed to theroots of the plants to be protected so that an artificial irrigation canpossibly be omitted, or reduced. Furthermore, this measure aids indirect sunlight being directed underneath the protective skin, or to theplants at the correct dosages.

In an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the weather protectiondevice has at least one weather protection strip that is attached, orsewn together on two opposite side, especially longitudinal sides. Thetwo other sides, especially short sides, are usually not attached, orsewn together. Favorably, a weather protection strip that is arranged onan edge, especially on the upper edge, is embodied accordingly. Itsstretch, or width is possibly smaller than that of the remaining, oraverage weather protection strips so that its working surface for thewind is comparably small. Otherwise, only protective skin strips thatare attached on one side can possibly completely tilt back beyond anedge area, for example the ridge edge of a roof-shaped weatherprotection device, i.e., beyond 180 degrees, so that a possiblyautomatic swiveling back into the idle position is no longer ensured.The second attachment bordering the one-sided attachment of theprotective skin strip that is attached on both sides on the net, etc.,is preferably performed by means of attaching the neighboring, borderingweather protection strip.

Generally, it is possible that a protective skin that is attached atleast partially pivoting on a carrier unit for the swiveling out bymeans of wind force from its idle position can, according to theinvention, also be advantageously used for sun umbrellas, tents,pavilions, or other protective roof systems. An inventive protectiveskin can also be used in construction, particularly for the manufactureof stables for animals, or for encasements of construction scaffolding,etc. In addition to the roof area, the protective skin can also beadvantageously arranged on at least one or several sides of therespective building, scaffolding or such for this purpose.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment example of the invention is illustrated in the drawing,and is explained in detail in the following figures.

They show in detail:

FIG. 1 is a perspective schematic illustration of a weather protectiondevice according to the invention in a rain, or idle phase, and

FIG. 2 is a perspective schematic illustration of the weather protectiondevice according to the invention in a wind, or thermal phase.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a weather protection device accordingto the invention with a carrier unit 1 and a protective skin 2. Theprotective skin 2 consists of several sheets 3 a, b, c, d, e, which areessentially aligned lengthwise along a row of plants 4.

The sheets 3 a, b, c, d, 3 each have an overlap 5. According to FIG. 1,the not visible upper edge of the interior sheet 3 is illustrated as abroken line, and the lower edge of the upper sheet 3 that overlaps thelower sheet 3 on its exterior is schematically illustrated as a solidline.

In the edge area of the broken line, or on the upper edge of the sheet 3when viewed in vertical direction, the sheets 3 a, b, c, d, e areattached on tension wires 11, or on a support device not illustrated inFIG. 1 preferably by means of a seam, by gluing, or such. Thisattachment is not illustrated for reasons of clarity. Each sheet 3 canpossibly be attached to a separate tension wire.

The protective skin 2, or the sheets 3, are made of a flexible foil orsuch, so that a pivoting of the protective skin 2, or of the sheets 3around an essentially horizontally aligned pivot area, or a respectivepivot line by means of the previously described attachment.

FIG. 2 shows the weather protection device according to FIG. 1 during awind or thermal phase. This makes it clear that by means of winds, or bymeans of wind created by thermal flows, the protective skin 2, or thesheets 3 a, b, c, d, e is swiveled along the previously described swivelline around the upper edge area of the protective skin 2, or the sheets3.

In the partially swiveled out position according to FIG. 2, openings 6are created in the protective skin 2 so that atmospheric air can flowthrough the protective skin 2. This causes especially the effectiveworking area of the protective skin 2 for the wind, or the flowingatmospheric air to be substantially reduced so that the protective skin2 is not adversely affected, or torn, or even completely destroyedduring winds, or during a storm.

This is particularly contrary to prior art, whereby respective weatherprotection devices have a continuous foil, or such, as the protectiveskin, and they are to resist wind forces by means of comparably complex,as stable as possible, and multiply stretched protective skins. In thecase of protective skins according to prior art, experience has shownthat comparably heavy storms, or gusts of wind destroy the same so that,for instance, the agriculturist experiences substantial financialdamages both with regard to the destroyed protection system, and withregard to possibly destroyed cherries, or such.

Through the use of a comparably simple, inexpensive, flexible protectiveskin 2, or sheets 3 according to the invention, a weather protectiondevice can be realized that can be achieved with minimal constructioneffort, or financial expenditure, as opposed to prior art.

Due to the overlap 5, the idle position of the protective skin 2, or ofthe sheets 3 illustrated in FIG. 1 particularly ensures that rainfalling on the weather protection device drains along the protectiveskin 2, or possibly from sheet 3 e over sheet 3 d, etc. until sheet 3 a,and drips, or drains possibly between the plants 4 onto the ground. Asan alternative, for instance, sheet 3 a can be largely continuouslyconnected to the neighboring, not detailed sheet 3 of the opposite roofarea so that they form a type of rain gutter, which causes the raingutter of the protective 2 to have an incline by means of a respectivelyadvantageous stretching device 8, and rainwater can draincorrespondingly.

Furthermore, a tension wire 11 is provided according to FIG. 1 forstretching the protective skin 2 in the ridge area of the gable roofthat is formed by the protective skin 2. Additionally, another tensionwire 12, as well as tension wires provided in the area of theattachments 7 can be arranged in a not illustrated manner for stretchingthe protective skin 2. Preferably, a hail net 9, for instance, isstretched on the tension wires 11 and 12, and the protective skin 2, orthe sheets 3 are attached to it.

Particularly with the aid of the stretching device 8, or the tensionwires 1, 12, the protective skin 2 is embodied in the shape of a gableroof over the plants 4. FIG. 2 shows the intended further development ofthe weather protection device according to the invention as a brokenline.

A gable roof is arranged over each plant row in a non-illustratedmanner. According to the invention, numerous gable roofs can extendacross the total surface of a corresponding cherry tree plantation, orsuch. Furthermore, the weather protection device can be extended inlongitudinal direction accordingly so that a plant row is comprised ofnumerous plants 4.

Furthermore, FIG. 2 indicates an additional attachment 7 that largelyprevents a complete back tilting of the protective skin 2, or of thesheets 3 so that they swivel back into an idle position according toFIG. 1 due to their own weight during comparably windless phases, or acalm.

FIG. 2 additionally shows that the protective skin 2, or the sheets 3can rest on a hail net 9, or is supported by the same. In a specialvariation of the invention, a common hail protection system includingthe hail net 9 is used, whereby the sheets 3, or the protective skin 2is sewn on, or glued on preferably lengthwise along its upper edgeareas, or attached in a comparable manner. The attachment 7 can berealized in the same way. As a result the weather protection systemaccording to the invention can be attached to already widely used hailprotection systems merely at a relatively small additional effort.

For example, a pole 10 may have a clearance of approximately 4 m so thatcurrently used cherry trees 4 are to be arranged underneath theprotective skin 2 according to the invention. The attachments 7 arearranged at a distance of, for instance, several meters from each other,possibly approximately 10 m from each other. The length of the sheets 3is adjusted mainly to the length of the plant rows, and can possibly bemore than 100 m total. The width of the sheets 3 is preferably severaldozens of centimeters, for instance, approximately 30 cm to 1 m.Advantageously, the overlap 5 has only a few centimeters, particularlyapproximately 5 to 10 cm.

Generally, weather protection devices are also possible that areembodied according to the invention, for instance, as tents, sunumbrellas or rain umbrellas, pavilions, or such with at least apartially pivoting protective skin 2, or sheets 3. For example, inumbrella-shaped weather protection devices, the sheets 3 are mainlyembodied as truncated cone shaped rings, which preferably consist offlexible material.

In a particularly simple variation of the carrier unit 1, it usually hasonly poles 10, or rods 10 with the tension wires 11, or tension ropes11. This means that the stretching device 8 and the tension wire 12 canbe omitted. In this variation of the invention, the complete protectiveskin 2 can nearly freely hang between the plants, or the plant rowstogether with the hail net 9, and can largely blow freely in the wind,or be moved by the same. This largely reduces the efforts for realizingthe invention without adversely influencing the advantageousfunctionality.

Generally, the poles 10, or rods 10 consisting of, for instance, wood,plastic, metal, especially aluminum or steel, and/or reinforced concretecan be used. They are possibly attached directly into the ground. As analternative, the poles 10, or rods 10 can also be inserted into cores orsuch, that are attached in the ground so that a protection from groundmoisture, or a rotting of the poles 10, or rods 10 near the ground levelcan be achieved. Furthermore, a relatively simple assembly anddisassembly of the weather protection device according to the inventioncan be realized in this manner.

Generally, in addition to protecting moisture or sunlight sensitivespecialized cultures 4 of plant cultivation, a weather protection deviceaccording to the invention particularly can also be used for theprotection of buildings, or of other weather sensitive objects, buildingwall work on scaffolding, and/or the protection of animals from moistureor sunlight. It is possible to use the object to be protected as acomponent of the carrier unit, which further reduces the efforts forrealizing the weather protection device according to the invention.

1. A weather protection device for the protection of moisture orsunlight sensitive specialized cultures of plant cultivation,comprising: a protective cover; and a carrier unit having a netlikestructure, wherein the protective cover comprises a plurality ofprotective cover elements, wherein a majority of the protective coverelements overlaps with another of the plurality of protective coverelements, wherein each of the protective cover elements is disposed ontop of the netlike structure, wherein each of the protective coverelements is attached to the netlike structure, and wherein each of theprotective cover elements of the weather protection device pivots withrespect to the carrier unit such that atmospheric air causes each of theprotective cover elements to swivel out from the netlike structure froman idle position.
 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein each ofthe protective cover elements is sewn or glued to the netlike structure.3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the protective cover iscomprised of a flexible material.
 4. The device according to claim 1,wherein each of the protective cover elements is a rectangular shape. 5.The device according to claim 1, wherein at least one longitudinal edgeof each of the protective cover elements is attached to the netlikestructure.
 6. The device according to claim 1, wherein each of theprotective cover elements pivots along a pivot line that extends in asubstantially horizontal direction.
 7. The device according to claim 1,wherein the carrier unit comprises a return means for returning each ofthe swiveled out protective cover elements to their respective idleposition.
 8. The device according to claim 1, wherein each of theprotective cover elements pivots along a pivot line that is arranged atan edge area of the protective cover elements.
 9. The device accordingto claim 7, wherein the return means is comprised of at least oneattachment element for attaching each of the protective cover elementsto the carrier unit.
 10. The device according to claim 1, wherein thecarrier unit is comprised of a support device to support at least one ofthe protective cover elements.
 11. The device according to claim 1,wherein each of the protective cover elements is attached to at leastone of the netlike structure and the carrier unit with a thread, yarn,rope, and/or wire.
 12. The device according to claim 1, wherein at leastone of the protective cover elements comprise a material that permitslight to pass.
 13. The device according to claim 1, wherein theprotective cover has a substantially peak shape.